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Legal Proceedings Against Six Men Who Arrived to the Doc . 49 0Port of Matina .

1519-1822 . 1

Despatch from the Sergeant Commander of Matina :On tie 18th instant a vessel was anchored, to take water off

the Port, and at the very hour that I heard of it I went downto the entrance and there I found the men already on the shore .

They told me that they had lost the vessel and I went where i t

was to satisfy. myself as to the cargo it brought ; and the cargoit brought was 65 fanegas of maize, 115 arrobas (a measure o f25 pounds) of meat, 65 small jars of lard, 4 dozen boards, 6

dozen hats, 50 mats, 6 arrobas of cheese ; and of these therewere rescued 20 jars of lard and some hats, 8 mats, 2 old gun sand three cheeses .

These men had been prisoners on other vessels : one was calledJuan Gonzalez, another Francisco Acosta, another FranciscoMartinez, another Juan Bautista Mercao another Juan Bautist aHernández, and the other is an Englishman . They had beenprisoners in Providencia ; they were shipped in the corsair an dwhile cruising on the coast of Cartagena the Corsair capture da vessel that was called the Schooner "Mariana," to which weretransshipped five men and a prisoner, and sent to Providencia ;and as they were old prisoners they took counsel with each othe rif they would like to go to a Spanish port . All with one voicesaid, "Yes," and looking for San Juan de Nicaragua, not beingpilots they 'had gone astray, immediately . I passed them to theCamp but did not forward them immediately because two wer esick, and I sent with a soldier those that left on the 25th instant ,with two passengers and with cargOes together with the soldie rthat accompanies them until they are presented to Your Honor .

I have received the official communication of Your Hono rdated the 1st instant, telling me that I had not made a report o fthe canoes that had arrived at this port . Your Honor may seeand read the communication of October 10, which gives a re -port of 12 canoes of negroes, Brufileños (from Bluefields) who

' National Archives of Costa Rica Historical Section . Bundle XLVI .No. 1441.

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arrived at this port, and a pirogue which arrived at Moin whenI went there it had already left, and two vessels which arrivedand anchored at the same time I arrived there went away as Itold them that no trade would be permitted . After that no othe rembarcation came in, except only this one that was lost, and Icould not report it to Your Honor without satisfying mysel fwho the men are and what they brought .

The Señor Royal official has forwarded to me four loads o fsugar and cheese and soap, beside another load of sugar thatcame all broken open and a package of meat to be presentedto the Moscos ; and I took charge of it as there was no otherjustice, now that he came it will be turned over to him. YourHonor will let me know if another can be sent .

The soldier sent with the lists did not come and I have ha dmuch difficulty in complying with the orders .

The Sr . Adjutant has asked for the machetes and guns whic hwere here .

Matina, October 23, 1819 .

PABLO CALDERON .To the Sr. Military Governor ,

Don Manuel de Cañas .

The above is a copy of what was received almost illegible b ythis Government from the Sergeant Commander of the Detach-ment of Matina.

San José, November 2, 1819 : which I certify .JUAN MANUEL D4 CAÑAS .

Don Juan Manuel de Cañas, Truxillo Sánchez de Madrid ,Garcia de Pastrana y Bacaró, Colonel of Infantry of the Roya lArmy, Military Governor of this Province of Costa Rica, Chie fSubinspector and Commander therein, Veteran of the fourthBrigade of this Kingdom of Guatemala :

Whereas, the Sergeant Comandante of Matina, Pablo Cal-derón, has made a report of a small vessel having been wreckedat the entrance to that port, and of having_ saved six men o fthose which were wrecked, who were forwarded to this Govern-

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ment ; and they having arrived here on the 3rd of the presen t

month and kept safely in the jail, I provided that they shoul dbe helped with one real per day for each one for his needfulmaintenance, at the charge of the Royal Treasury, and that afte r

being recorded and the papers that might be found had bee ncarefully inspected I should proceed to prepare the proper in -dictment, in order to ascertain with what passport they were

sailing, from what port they departed, to what port they wer e

going, what cargo they carried and whatever else might be de-sirable, for all of which it being necessary to appoint a Cler kto act in that matter, I ought to appOÍnt and I do appoint the 1s tveteran sergeant of the Provincial Battalion, Jose Reyes Que-sada ; who being present takes the oath and promises to faith -fully discharge this duty, keeping secrecy ; and in order tha tit may be recorded he signed it with me, in this city of San José ,on the 8th day of the month of November, 1 .519 years, which Icertify .

JUAN MANUEL DE CAÑAS.JOSÉ REYES QUESADA.

On the same day, month and year, the Sr . Military Governorof this Province, Don Juan Manuel de Cañas directed that ther eshould be added to this a copy of the papers which were for -warded by this mail to the Most Excellent Señor Captain-Genera lof the Kingdom, and the report which was left in this office ofthe Secretary which was made by the Sergeant Commander o fthe Detachment of Matina and the others necessary .

And one of the six who were taken being of the English Na-tion and not understanding our language at all, he was brough tbefore Felipe Romero a resident of Cartago, who is said to un-derstand the English language, in order that he might serve a san interpreter at the time of taking his declaration .

And for this which he provided, His Excellency commanded i tand signed it, before me, which I certify .

CAÑAS .Before me : .

JOSE REYES QUESADA .

It having been 'desired by this Comandancia General, the 5thof this month, that the passport which was produced by the Eng-lishman who was shipwrecked, might be translated from French

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into Spanish, so that the original might be forwarded to thehigher authorities, it was verified by the Licenciado Don Rafae lBarroeta in the following terms :

"United States of Buenos Ayres and Chile."I, the undersigned, Captain of the Schooner of Buenos

Ayres, Isabela, certify that the Schooner Varianza o fCartagena was captured by me at three leagues of longi-tude from Cape San Blas, going to Portobelo loaded withprovisions.

"This Schooner has received directions to go directl yto Santa Catalina, under the command of Thomas Copen,having for crew those named .

"On board the Schooner Isabela, the 21st of September ,ISM

GEoRGE THoMAS (alias) Torradito, Captain .

JOSÉ MANUEL, Clerk.

"The other signature I do not understand .

BARROETA „

Which copy is legal, with the translation, and that it might berecorded His Ex . signed it, before me, which I certify .

CAÑAS.Before me :

JOSÉ REYES QUESADA,.Communication was sent to the Captain of the Army, tempo-

rary Comandante de Armas, Don . Juan Dengo for Felipe Rom-ero and that it might be recorded I sign it .

QUESADA .

In the record that was made there was found on the English -man the following articles : a votante, a compass and a map ofthe coast very badly damaged, and on one Juan another compassand a spy-glass, which are in this Comandancia ; and that it maybe recorded I ' signed it with Your Honor on the same day,month and year, which I certify, I, the said Clerk.

Also there are found some papers, which are forwarded t othe Super .

CAÑAS .I certify :

JOSÉ REYES QUESADA .

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In the city of San José, on the 9th day of the month of No-vember, 1819, there being present Felipe Romeró who had been

appointed by His Hon. as interpreter to take the declaration of

the shipwrecked Englishman, before me the present Clerk, th e

Sr . Military Gov. of this Province took his oath in due for m

and according to law, by which he undertook to faithfully and

legally discharge the duty of interpreter, according to the best

of his knowledge and ability, and that it might appear it wasrecorded and it was signed by the said Señor, with the inter-preter, before me ; which I certify.

JUAN MANUEL DE CAÑAS .FELIPEROMERO.

On the saute day, month and year, the Sr. Don Juan Manuelde Cañas, Military Governor of this Province and Colonel ofthe Royal Army having before him a man who was entirely

ignorant of Spanish and only understood English, thereforethrough the medium of the interpreter Felipe Romero he aske dhim what religion he professed ; and the interpreter stated thathe said that it was the Roman, in virtue of which the Sr . Gov .administered to him the proper oath upon the sign of the cross ,under which he promised to tell the truth as to what he shouldbe interrogated ; and being asked what his name was be repliedthat he was called Henry Cooper, that he was of the age o fnineteen years, a native of Dol in the island of Great Britain ,of the Roman religion and his calling was that of a sailor .

Being asked how or why he had come to this city ; he saidthrough the interpreter, that he left his land for Providencia tosell their provisions ; that from Providencia he sailed for Carta-gena and Portobelo, with provisions, and having observed thatthe sea was very rough, fearful that there might be enemies thereand not carrying but one small cannon he determined to go t oSan Juan de Nicaragua ; that having arrived at this destinationthey cast anchor not knowing if that was the destination theywere seeking, that it was in the night and they took water bymeans of a canoe of some Moscos Indians who took two pesosfor three barrels of water, and having set sail in place of comingin sight of San Juan they came in sight of Matina and at threemiles they were tacking off and on for eight or nine days, until

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they recognized that it was not the port they were looking for ,

but was that of Matina ; but as they were getting short of water

he determined to go to it and anchored in the night, and by th e

morning they had grounded on a sandbank, doubtless carried b y

the swell ; that the cannon which he spoke of was not carried

by the little vessel that was wrecked by the Isabela, for th e

little vessel which was wrecked only carried four muskets, fiv e

or six machetes, two extra pounds of powder in cartridges an dsix or eight pounds of munitions ; that the cargo was maize, meat ,

two pigs, some jars of lard and six cheeses, two dozen hats and

some mats : and that they also carried two compasses and a longdistance spy-glass ; that as soon as they saw that they werewrecked he proceeded with the sailors until they came to th e

river where they shouted and soon there came a canoe withtwo men and took them' to a house where there was a cocoanu ttree ; that be gives this indication because he does not know thename of the men or of the place ; that these men collected a par tof the cargo which was wrecked, as much as they could, an dshaving been four days in the house of the cocoanut tree the ywere taken where they arrived after twelve days on the way .

Being asked how many men the little vessel which . was wrecke dcarried as crew and how they were called, he said : there were fiveand be was the sixth, one was named Juan Bautista, anothe r

Juan, another Francisco who was a prisoner, another Franciscoand another they called Portorrico as he does not know wher ethey are from and they are now in this city .

Being asked where he took these sailors, he said, that he tookfour of them in the Port of Providencia, who were given tohim by the Captain who despatched the deponent, who was calle dDiego but he does not know his other name, and the other i sone of the Franciscos who was a sailor of the same little ves-sel that was wrecked .

Asked 'how it was that he sailed from Providencia when thepassport which he had presented is from the United States ofBuenos Aires and Chile, he said that he arrived there on purpos eto take a commission from the General of the Insurgents, wh owas called Aury.

Asked how, it is that he states that he came to Cartagena andPortobelo when the passport is directly to Santa Catalina, he said,

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that having departed from Buenos Aires bound for Santa Cata-lina a Spanish Sailor lost the direction and getting short of wate rthey looked for a Spanish port and this was the reason the ves-sel was lost .

Being asked how the vessel 's Captain was called that gave himthe passport, he said, that he was called Diego and the vesse lIsabel .

Asked what the -vessel was called which was wrecked, he said ,that it was called Mariana.

Asked how many of the sailors that he carried were Insurgent sand how many were Royalists, he said that they were neither In-surgents nor were they Royalists, that being in great need i nProvidencia they agreed to go to sea in the little vessel unde rthe condition of sharing in the distribution of the prizes thatmight be made, and it was between them ; that if the prize wa sEnglish with a Spanish passport it was all right, and Spanishwith an English passport for the cargo, the cargo would be take nfrom them and the vessel given to them.

Asked if Spaniards and Creoles who were carried in his ves-sel came under the condition he had mentioned, he said they did.

Asked where was the license that he took out in Providenciato navigate, he said that the Captain of the Isabela kept it an ddelivered to him the passport which he had produced .

Asked how it is that the passport is signed by George Thomas ,he said that this George Thomas is the second Captain of th eIsabela, and José Manuel the Clerk, and the signature which i snot understood must be some Frenchman, for they were all o fthat Nation with the exception of José Manuel, who was theClerk.

Asked if when they made prisoner the Schooner Mariana hewent in it, he said, that then he, the deponent, was on boar dof the Isabela .

Asked in what latitude they captured the Mariana he said ,that it was in front of San Blas del Norte. .

Asked how it is that he says that he sailed from Providenciawhere he was going in the Schooner Isabela on a cruise, he sai dthat being in Providencia they shipped him in the Isabela andhe went to Buenos Aires, where he went cruising in the Isabela .

Its

And although he was asked other questions and was reinterro-gated, to none of them did he answer further than he had done ;and this declaration having been read to the interpreter word b yword, and the interpreter repeating it one by one to the deponen tand having listened to it carefully he said that what had bee nread to 'him word by word was the same that he had declared ,and that he had nothing to add or to take away, which he affirme dand ratified on the cross as he had done ; and the said Sr . Gov .signed it with the deponent and the interpreter, before me, th epresent Clerk, which I certify .

JUAN MANUEL M CANAS .FELIPE ROMERO, Interpreter .

HENRY CooPER.Before me : JOSÉ REYES QUESADA.

In the said city, on the 10th day of the month of No1819, the Sr. Military Gov. and Comandante General de lasArenas, Don Juan Manuel de Cañas, caused to appear a man wh owas sworn before me the present Clerk and he tools the oat hin due form and according to law, by which he promised to tel lthe truth as to what he knew and should be interrogated ; andthis being done that he should state his name, age, country, re-ligion and business or occupation, and he said, that he was calle dJuan González, that his age is 43 years, that his country is thecity of Zaragoza, his religion is the Apostolic Roman Catholic ,his occupation a sailor .

Being asked for what reasons he is in this city, being a sailor ,he said, that having been discharged from the Royal Marine a sunserviceable by the Sr . Commander Don José Maria Chacón,as shown by the two discharges which he produced the day thatthe arrived in this city, 'he occupied himself in the meantime unti lhe could go to Europe in sailing to Puerto Cabello, which waswhere his discharge was given to him., and that having falleninto the hands of the Insurgents he was taken to the Island ofProvidencia, where he exhausted his means to get away andnot having succeeded he took a share in the Schooner Isabel ato cruise on the coast to Cartagena, where the Schooner Mariana

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of Cartagena was captured, loaded with maize, meat, boards,

lard and cheese and some fowls ; that having been transshippe d

by order of the Captain of the Isabela, under the orders of an Eng-lishman named Enrique (Henry), they were bound for Provi-dencia; but that the water running short the Englishman deter-

mined to stop on the coast of the Indians, to which the deponentwas opposed, and the other sailors, who were four and he five ,and they decided to seek the mouth of the River S . Juan de Nica-ragua; and having opposed the Englishman the deponent took

the rudder out of his hand, and said : There is here no othe rCaptain than myself, and he arrived at the coast, to see if it wa sthe mouth of said River, and having made out the mouth of the .River, he said to the companions : Boys, we are going to see i fthat is the River : and in fact they found it was and they pro-vided themselves with water, and they made sail to find a Span-ish port where they might take refuge ; but the wind and theswell threw them upon the land and they grounded in , sixpalmos (handbreadths, of eight inches) of water ; . that seeing.that they were lost they embarked in the boat and came to theshore ; and after having gone three or four leagues they arrivedat the mouth of the River Matina, where having shouted ther ecame a canoe from the Guard to their assistance ; and findingthemselves in this situation he took 15 pesos from the English -man which the Captain of the Isabela had given to him, in orde rthat he might support them, and with this he paid for provisionsand the transportation of what they could save from the wreck ,which was 23 jars of lard, 2 cheeses, one box of candles, all o fwhich were carried to the Camp and there delivered to the Sergt .Commander, who in five days forwarded them all to this city .

Asked 'how, having served the King so many years and being anative of the invincible Zaragoza, he took a part in an Insurgentvessel, he said, that no one in Providenee asked him whether hewas willing to go in the vessel but if he did not do it quickl ythey would punish him and they made him do it .

Asked how it was that he sailed from Providencia when thepassport . is from Buenos Aires, he said, that in Providencia thereis a General of Buenos Ayres who gives passports with the titl eof Buenos Ayres, and even as far as the same Providencia use sthe flag .

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Asked how long it was since he was taken prisoner, he said

that it was at the last of July of this year, when he went in avessel from La Guaira, called La Teresa .

Asked for what destination the Schooner Mariana carried th eprovisions which were wrecked, he said that it was for Providen-cia. Reminded that as he so states that the passport says that i t

was for the Island of Catalina, he responded that it is all one, theIsland of Providencia and Catalina .

Asked what arms the Mariana had, he said there was one pis-tol, two old muskets and three unserviceable machetes, which iswhat he took charge of when he assumed command that hetook away from the Englishman, with the purpose of looking for

a Spanish port ;and although he was asked many other ques-tions and repeatedly, he said that he did not know any more tha n

the sailor Francisco a native of New Barcelona, because he di dnot want to make the voyage they took him to the Isabela an dgave him 25 lashes on a cannon, and they made him go and em -bark on the Schooner Mariana .

And his declaration having been read to him he said that i twas the same that he had stated, but he said that on the 15 peso swhich he took from the Englishman he gave back 6 which wer eleft over ; that as to the rest he had nothing to add, nor to tak eaway, but he affirmed and ratified it under the oath that he hadtaken. He did not sign it, not knowing how, but he made th esign of the cross and the Sr . Governor signed it, before me :which I certify .

JUAN MANUEL DE, CAÑAS .

Before me : Josh Reyes Quesada .

(Then follow the declarations of Francisco Martinez ,

Juan Bautista Mercado, Francisco Acosta and Juan Bau-tista Hernandez ; and the document continues with theprincipal papers following : )

In view of this investigation being concluded and it bein gnecessary for the deponents to ratify the same to give to it fulleffect, and most of them being under 25 years, let them be ad-vised to appoint some one to defend them, who shall be to thei rsatisfaction, in order that the said ratifications may be presented ;

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let the official communication be sent to the Military Commande rat interim of Cartago, Don Juan Dengo in order that he mayhave Felipe Romero appear in this tribunal as interpreter of th eEnglish language, on Monday the 15th, in the morning ; so or-ders and signs the Sr. Don Juan Manuel de Cañas, military Gov-ernor of this Province, on the 12th day of the month o

f November, 1819, before me, the present Clerk, which I certify .CAÑAS .

Before me : José Reyes Quesada .

In the city of S . José, on the 13th day of the month of Feb-ruary, 1819, the Sr . Military Governor and Commander General :

Having present the six sailors shipwrecked at the mouth of th eRiver Matina who have deposed in these proceedings and th eforegoing documents having been brought to their knowledge ,and being advised of their statement that they do not know anyperson in this city, except the Sr . Capt. of Cavalry, Don FélixBonilla, the latter having devoted himself to their service and t ocaring for, their infirmities, they appointed him and do appoin thim as their defender, and that it may be recorded, not knowin ghow to write they make the sign of the cross, and it was signe dby the said Señor, before me, the present Cleric ; which I certify .

CAÑAS.HENRY COOPER .- Before me : José Reyes Quesada .

The condition of these proceedings being noted, the papers ar eforwarded to His Excellency the Captain-General in this King-dom, Don Carlos de Urrutia, for his superior determination . Letthe official communication be sent to the Sergt . Commander o fMatina in order that he may forward to this Tribunal the forma linventory which was requested of him on the 31st of Octobe rand the 6th of this month, of all that was recovered and whic hhe was able to save from the little vessel which was wrecked atthe mouth of the River Martina ; and this which he provided h eordered and signed, the Señor Don Juan Manuel de Cañas,Colonel of Infantry of the Royal Army, and Military Governor

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and Comandante General de las Armas of this Province, in S.José de Costa Rica, on the 16th day of the month of November ,1819, before me the present Clerk ; which I certify .

JUAN MANUEL DE GANAS .

Before me : J osé Reyes Quesada .

The official communication which was directed was forwardedto the Commander of Matina .

QUESADA .

Señor Colonel of the Army and Com . Gen. de las Armas :

The Captain of Cay . and defender appointed by the six ship-wrecked persons who are imprisoned in the cells óf the jail i nthis city, without communication, with due consideration submit sto Your Honor that three of them are quite ill, afflicted withfevers and other troubles, which are from day to day increasin gwith unfavorable symptoms, for which they are in need of suit -able care in the deplorable misery into which they have fallen ,kept together in a narrow room, where they are necessarily in-fecting the air more and more which they breathe, to the pro-gressive detriment of their bad health ; and it being hoped thatpure air and more freedom would very greatly contribute to thei rrestoration and as regards the conclusion of their declarationsin which they are confirmatory witnesses .

Your Honor is petitioned to open up to all of the six ship-wrecked persons the large hall of the jail or all of it, in orderto be able to provide them with the conveniences possible an dpreparation of medicines and other necessary aids in the lamenta-ble situation of these unfortunates, that . in this they may receivemercy and justice, which is .implored as being within the exer-cise of Your Honor .

FELIXDE BoNILLA.

San José de Costa Rica, Nov. 16, 1819 .

With the original proceedings, this petition is referred to theSr. Licentiate Don Rafael Barroeta, in order that he may pro -vide in this matter what he deems just. So he provided andcommanded and signed, the Sr . Gov. and Commander General of

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this Province, Don Juan Manuel de Cañas, Colonel of Infantryof the Royal Army, Chief Sub-inspector and Veteran Commande rof the Fourth Brigade of thIs Kingdom : Before me, which I .certify :

CAÑA&

Before me : José Reyes Quesada .

Sr . Colonel and Commander General .

The consulting Ascsor (legal adviser) has seen this despatc hconcerning the imprisonment of the six shipwrecked persons,Henry Cooper, Juan González, Francisco ,Martinez, Juan Bau-tista Mercado, Francisco Acosta and Juan Bautista Hernández ,colored man .

Francisco Martinez cannot be an insurgent, for it appears tha the came as sailor in the Schooner Mariana, which sailed withprovisions from Cartagena for Portobelo with the necessarylicences from the Spanish Government . This Schooner was cap-tured by the Insurgent Schooner of Buenos Aires, the Isabela,whose Captain transferred the crew of it and manned it withfive sailors from the Isabela and with Martinez who was whippedbecause he refused to continue as a sailor in the Mariana ; andordered it with provisions to go to the Island of Sta. Catalina,alias Providencia, under the command of the Englishman, Henr yCooper. This subject is not guilty in any way, and so You rHonor may give him the liberty of the jail in the city and th eneighborhood until the Most Excellent Captain General deter -mines as he may deem proper .

All the others say they are prisoners of the Insurgents ofBuenas Aires; taken in different Spanish vessels in which theysailed, and that they went to serve in the Schooner Isabela com-pelled by punishment or misery. This may be true or not, butbe that as it may, being ill it is necessary to alleviate their con-finement, so that they may be doctored, and so it seems to methat during the daytime they may be given the liberty of th eprison and that they may be shut up at night to prevent theirflight : until His Excellency shall determine .

RAFAEL BARROETA .San José, Nov. 17, 1819 .

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Further, I say : that to the speaker it seems that a chargeought to be made against the five shipwrecked persons, leavingout Francisco Martinez, of having sailed in an Insurgent priva-teer, to the injury of Spanish subjects, for although they al lassert that they sailed under compulsion and that having th eopportunity for freedom. they were going to the port of SanJuan, they took away from. Henry Cooper the command of th eMariana and endeavored to enter into the port before they werewrecked, Cooper says nothing about this in his declaration, an dso it seems to me that Cooper should be examined about this, andif he denies this that he should be confronted with the sailors,

BARROETA.

Dated ut supra :

In view of the opinion of the Sr . Licentiate, Don Rafael Bar-roeta, the Sr . Gov. and Com, Gen ., Don Juan Manuel d e Cañassays that it shall be so carried but as to the principal part thereof ,and thereupon as he ought to command and he did command thatthe Englishman Cooper and the sailors Juan Gonzalez, Jua nBautista Mercado, Francisco Acosta and Juan Bautista Hernan-dez, be given the liberty of the hall of the jail, in view of the ill swhich they suffer ; and as to Francisco Martinez that he be giventhe city as his jail, under the special condition that he must pre-sent himself in the Guardhouse of the jail in the morning, a tmid-day and at night, where he ought to sleep .

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Let their Defender, Capt . Don Félix Bonilla, be advised o fthis for them, with the clear understanding that it is for the pres-ent and until the superior determination of His Excellency SeñorCap. Gen. and notifying them that at the least ground that the ygive for it they will be put back into the narrow cell in whichthey were, ; and as for the other part of the opinion, let an officia lcommunication be sent to the Interpreter, Felipe Romero, s othat the charges may be made against each one as the legal ad-viser states.

The imprisonment in the hall of the jail should be understoo das confined to that and no more, and in no way extended to thecorridor, and at night they should be locked up in the same cel lafter the angelus ; and for this which he provided, he commanded

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and he signed, the said Señor Military Governor in Saws José,on the 16th day of the month of November, 1819, before me thepresent Clerk ; which I-certify :

JUAN MANUEL DE CAÑAS .

Before me : José Reyes Quesada .

At the same moment, I the Clerk, advised the Señor Capt .Don Félix de Bonilla of the foregoing action and being advisedthereof the stated that he understood it and signed with me.

BONILLA.

QUESADA .

In the city of San José, on the 19th day of the month of No-vember, 1819, the Señor Military Governor of this Province, Do nJuan Manuel de Cañas, for the purpose of correcting the errorand defect which the legal adviser notes in the addition to th eforegoing opinion, of not having asked the Englishman, Henr yCooper if the sailors took away from him the command, and i fthese latter sailed under compulsion, the Interpreter Felip eRomero being present, caused the Englishman Henry Cooper t oappear and before me, the present Clerk, he took the oath, whichhe made before God, Our Lord, upon a sign of his Holy Cross ,by which he promised to tell the truth as to what he knew an dshould be interrogated ; and this being done in the tenor of theaddition to the opinion, he said, that he is sure that at least thre emiles from San Juan de Nicaragua the European sailor JuanGonzález said to him : Here there is no more Captain, no moreComandante than I : that although the other sailors did not sostate it explicitly, they gave him to sufficiently understand it, forwhich reason. and because Juan Gonzalez threatened to throwhim into the water, he was left in the vessel in the character of asailor, and because he said that Gonzalez drew out a knife an dthreatened him, saying to him that he would cut out his guts ;that the other sailors and the deponent were not compelled i n

Providencia but the great distress in which they were oblige dthem to embark in the Isabela :and having read this declara-tion to him and it being repeated to him in English by the In-terpreter in the presence of the Official Defender, he said that i twas the same that he had stated, that he had nothing to add or

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take away and that it was affirmed and ratified by him under hi soath away and that it was affirmed and ratified by him under hi sernor, Interpreter and the Señor Official Defender, before me thepresent Clerk ; which I certify .

.JUAN MANUEL DE CAÑAS .

HENRY COOPER.

FELIX DE BONILLA .

FELIPEROMERO.

Before me : José Reyes Quesada .

In the city of San fosé, on the 27th day of the month of No-vember, 1819, the Señor Juan Manuel de Cañas, Military Gov-ernor of this Province, with the addition to the opinion of th eLicentiate Don Rafael Barroeta, which had been finished, theseproceedings were forwarded to His Ex . Señor Capt. Gen . of theKingdom according and as it is commanded by the document o fthe 16th of this month, for his superior determination, whic hdirection was commanded and signed by the said Governor inSan José, before me the present Clerk : which I certify .

CAÑAS .Before me : José Reyes Quesada .

These proceedings were forwarded by post as directed .QUESADA .

Don José Ramón Zelaya, Deputy Clerk of the Chamber of theIntendancy and Captaincy-General of the Province of Guatemala.certifies : that in the inquest held to take the testimony of the si xsailors who were shipwrecked in a little vessel at the mouth o fthe River Matina, which was sent to this Captaincy General bythe Señorr Military Governor of the Province of Costa Rica, withofficial communication of November 30, 1819 ; their maintenanc eis provided for in accord with the Señor Auditor of War, in thi swrit .

Palace of Guatemala, April 12, 1822 .Whereas : . all of these provinces being already independent o f

the Spanish Government, and it being proper that all those who .were captured on account of insurrection should be placed at

A 7

liberty, let this case be sent back to the Comandancia which for-warded it, so that steps be taken to stop the proceedings agains tthose under process therein, unless there shall be some othe r

charge than that of . insurrection : and in case of having com-mitted any other offense the same Comandancia shall procee d

under its authority .GAÍNZA .VALLE .JOSÉ RAMÓN ZELAYA .

And in order that it may he reported, I submit the present i norder that it may be added to the proceedings mentioned, whic hin compliance with the order shall be returned to the Sr . Military

Governor of Costa Rica .

Guatemala, April 16, 1822 .JOSÉ RAMÓN ZELAYA.

The Minister of the Treasury of the Central American Doc . 491

Federation to the General Manager of Excises .

GUATEMALA, November 16, 1824 . '

Ministry of War, Marine and the Treasury .Department of the Treasury.

No. 105 .To the General Manager of Excises :

Under date of the 11th instant it was declared that Art . 19 o fthe Customs Regulations required the Administrations of th ePorts to forward to the General Office the manifests or th eoriginal registers ; and that this provision not being compliedwith, the lack of these documents not only occasioned confusionin the despatch of goods but was a source of trouble in the set-tlement of duties arising from the temporary tariff and the in-crease of the new impost .

For this reason the Supreme Government has seen fit to re-solve that the Commanders or the sub-delegates of the Treasuryat the Ports take especial care upon their own responsibility tha tthe Administrators and Collectors of Customs Duties at such

'Archives of the Department of Foreign Relations of Costa Ric aYear 1824 .

88

Ports forward the registers or manifests of cargos which are im-ported or exported, in the manner provided . This is commu-

nicated to you for its execution as to that wherein you may b e

concerned .

God, Union and ;Liberty : Guatemala, November 16, 1824 .

FRANCo . GÓMEZ Dl ARGUELLo .

Doc. 492 Don Pablo Alvarado, Deputy to the Federal Congress, tothe Chief of the State of Costa Rica .

GUATEMALA, September 7, 1825 . 1

To the Supreme Chief of Costa Rica :

CITIZENJUANMORA:

I desire to suggest to the Federal Congress the recognition as aNational Debt of more than 720,000 pesos, paid by your prov-ince to the King of Spain for work done on the Matina road ,during the past centuries, under that notorious contract the Costa-rican Government made with that of Spain .

Will you be good enough to forward to me, as early as prac-ticable, a statement of such contributions in detail or provincia l

impost, with an account showing how many thousands were con-tributed upon the date of independence of your State from th eaforesaid government, for I think that by the use of it I maybe able to prepare a petition and save your State . as large a sumfor future expenses as may have been heretofore paid out . Thereshould be no delay about this, as this Congress will adjourn with -in two months. I trust you will take it up before anything els eand advise me of the result .

I received the answer to my letter of July 7th. I . .will give dueadvice of the result .

God, Union and Liberty : Guatemala, September 7, 1825 .

PABLo ALVARAn O

` Archives of the Department of Foreign Relations of Costa Rica.Year 1825.

89

Decree LXXXVI .

Da. 49 3

SAN JOSÉ, April 4, 1526 . '

The Supreme Chief of the Free State of Costa Rica:Whereas, the Assembly has decreed and the Council approve d

the following :"The Constitutional Assembly of the Free State o f

Costa Rica :"Considering, how important it is for the State to en -

courage the traffic to the Valley of Matina., to develop it ssettlement and especially to extend the cultivation of itslands with cacao which has always been grown to ad -vantage ;

"Has decided to and does decree :"Art . 1 . To freely open to every man and woman th e

right to trade and reside in the Valley of Matina, with-out any one being hindered under any pretext whatever .

"Art. 2. The political government will at once makeprovision for the choosing and for the establishment thereof a municipal government, composed of an Alcalde, aRegidor and a Procurador (attorney), having the sameduties and attributes as those in other settlements .

"Art . 3 . Also upon the proper ecclesiastical license be-ing obtained, the construction shall be arranged for bythe alms of the faithful of a building suitable for a ermita(building for religious purposes), from whence spiritua l'help may be furnished to the inhabitants within a circui tof a half league on each side upon national lands intendedfor settlement, where a plot of one manzana will be givento any one who may seek to settle and found a home .

"Art . 4. Every married man or family that comes toreside in the new settlement of Matina will receive fromits municipal government, in addition to the plot abovementioned, five manzanas of land in fee, wherever it i sdesired to begin work .

"Art . 5. Any man or woman who commits an offens ethat is deserving of banishment under the Law, shall b e

Collection of Laws of Costa Rica . Year 1826.

90

sent to Matina and handed over to its municipal govern-ment, which shall look after the permanent residence an dthe occupation or employment of such person .

"Art . G . The consort or family who may accompan ysuch banished person, although not embraced in the pen-alty, and make a settlement there, shall acquire for them-

selves the properties mentioned in the two preceding Ar-ticles .

"Art. 7 . Any proprietor who devotes 'himself to the es-tablishment of a cattle ranch of any kind in Matina or inthe uninhabited mountain region on the way, shall acquire

a right to have the ownership of such locations .

"Art, S. The old cacao plantations which may havesome assessed value and have not been absolutely aban-doned by their owners, shall not be levied upon in exces s

of their present value, even if they are thereafter im-proved .

"Art . 9 . Those entirely abandoned by their owners ar efree from all assessments that were levied upon them an dtheir owners may recognise and cultivate them ane

w under this guaranty, but unless they shall do so within on eyear the municipal government may allot them to any on eelse who is willing to take them, and in such case no righ twhatever shall be left therein in favor of the old owners ,nor in the assessors to charge them.

"Art. 10. In order to classify them as such and to dis-pose of them, the municipal government after preparing alist thereof will serve official notice upon their owner swithin the year to decide whether they will reassume andcultivate them ; and if they shall not do so or after an .inquest showing such abandonment where the owners areunknown, they may be allotted to others, after the expira-tion of one year .

"Art . 11 . When the ecclesiastical fees collectable fromthe new population are deemed by the municipal govern-ment to be sufficient, it may undertake the erection of aParish and the assignment of a Curate who shall atten dto it in spiritual matters ; but in the mean time the Political

9 1

Chief, upon petition of license for preaching, will addres stheir prayers to the ecclesiastical authorities for the ap-pointment of a Chaplain .

"Art . 12 . The same municipal government shall prepar ethe Articles relating to the establishment of its publi cfunds and arbitrations .

"Art . 13. The award of lands granted in the foregoin gArticles shall always be given without prejudice to th eplantations of cacao or the half league for settlement .

"To the Representative Council :"Given in, San José, on the twenty-ninth day of the

month of March, 1826 ." JOAQUiN RIVAS, Deputy President ."PEDRO ZELEDÓN, Deputy Secretary."FRANCISCO MARIA OREAMUNO, Deputy Secretary .

"Hall of the Council :"San José, March thirty-first, 1826 ."Let it be sent to the Executive Power :

"JOSÉ RAFAEL DE GALLEGOS, President ."GREGORIO GUERRERO Secretary."

Therefore, let it be executed :JUAN MORA .

San Jose, April fourth, 1826 .To the Citizen Manuel Aguilar .

Decree 136.

Doc . 494

SAN JOSÉ, August 25, 1827 . 1

The Supreme Chief of the Free State of Costa . Rica :

Whereas, the Assembly has passed and the Council has ap-proved the following :

"The Constitutional Assembly of the Free State o fCosta Rica, desiring so far as possible to provide for th eneeds of the Valley of Matina, and to secure the comfortand safety of travellers, and considering that for such im-portant purposes the latter will cheerfully make some sacri -fices ,

' Supra. Year 1827.

9 2

"Has decreed and does decree :"Art. 1 . Boats shall be built for ferriage over the river s

Pacuare and Reventazón, in which the charge shall be on ereal for each passenger who is a resident, and one-half fortransients .

"Art . 2. For cargo the charge will be a half real perarroba (weight of 25 lbs .), upon articles produced withi nthe country ; and upon foreign goods one real for eac harroba ; but if there are any spirits the charge_ shall befour reales for each twenty bottles .

"Art. 3. Mules and cattle, carried on board, shall pay ,for the former one real, and for the latter four reales .

"Art . 4. Pigs that have been killed shall pay one real ;and each head of cattle two .

" Art. 5. These shall first of all be applied to the pur-poses of the first Article, and the Municipality shall at -tend carefully to their collection and investment .

"To the Representative Council :

"Given in San José on the fifth day of the month ofAugust, 1827 .

"MANUEL, ALVARADO Deputy President ."PEDRO ZELEDON, Deputy Secretary ."BRAULIO CARRILLO_ Deputy Secretary .

"Hall of the Council :

San Jose, August twenty-fourth, 1827 ."Let it be sent to the Executive Power :

"CECILIO UMAÑA President ."GREGORIo GUERRERO Secretary . "

Therefore, let it be executed :

San Jose, August twenty-fifth, 1827 .

JUAN MORA ,

To the Citizen Joaquin Bernardo Calvo .

93

Decree 159.

Doc. 495

SAN JoSt, June 16, 1828 1

The Supreme Chief of the Free State of Costa Riea :

Whereas, the Assembly has passed and the Council has ap-proved the following :

"The Constitutional Assembly of the Free State o f

Costa Rica, desiring to put an end to contraband trade andthe frauds which are perpetrated by the introduction offoreign and domestic merchandise without payment of

the duties, to the prejudice of the State, and to stop th eindividuals engaged therein, especially those who come in

through Matina;`And considering that the duties from this source hardl y

amount to enough to establish a guard, as in Puntarenas,and that it is absolutely necessary to afford some assistanc eto other established branches of trade which do not pro -duce very much, out of regard for the welfare of thepeople ;

"Has deemed it proper and does decree :".frt. 1 . To authorize the First

9 4

"Art. 4. Consignees or interested parties who violat ethe foregoing Article shall pay a fine equal to the amountof the duties that must be satisfied, and the Conductorone of twenty-five pesos for each load, for the benefit o fthe public Treasury of the State .

"Art . 5. The Cashier, with an inspector appOÍnted byhim, shall examine, the goods in each package, making anappraisement according to the provisions of the most re -cent Customs tariff.

"Art . 6 . The vendors of rural and urban properties, o rcattle, mules and horses, shall only pay a tax upon value sof fifty pesos inclusive and upwards, transfers being un-derstood in the same way, and an account must be sub-mitted to the Treasury or Deputy of another settlementwithin fifteen days after the contract is made, and if thi sis not done double duties shall be paid .

"Art . 7. The interior imposts shall be satisfied withinthree months at the Treasury or paid to the respectiv eDeputy, the sale not being an immediate one, and the pur-chaser shall be held responsible if the vendor is in de-fault .

"Art . 8 . Let Art . 2 of the Decree of September 13, 1825 ,be amended .

"To the Representative Council :

"Given in San Josh, on the twenty-fourth day of th emonth of May, 1828 .

"MANUEL ALVARADO, Deputy President.° VICENTE CASTRo Deputy Pro-Secretary .

"FÉLlX HIDALGo Deputy Secretary .

"Hall of the Council : .San José, June 14, 1828 .

"Let it be sent to the Executive Power :"JoSÉ RAFAEL GALLEAOS, President ."GREGORIO GUERRERo Secretary . "

Therefore : let it be executed .San José, June 16, 1828 :

JUAN MORA .To the Citizen Joaquin Bernardo Calvo .

's

Decree 170 .

Doc . 49 6

SAN JoSÉ, November 4, 1828 . '

The Supreme Chief of the Free State of Costa Rica:Whereas, the Assembly has passed and the Council has ap-

proved the following :

"The Constitutional Assembly of the Free State o fCosta Rica, desiring the welfare of the people and th eprosperity of the State, having in mind the fact that ther eare within it many and vast areas which are uncultivate dand deserted ; and that, while these in their present con-dition are of no value or advantage for the general good ,they might if cultivated be made to yield great benefits ;

"And being desirous, moreover, of aiding in a move-ment of so much interest and helping in some way to en -courage those who engage in it, by granting to them som eparcels of land ;

"Has decided to decree and does decree as follows :

"Art . 1 . There is granted, for the period of eight years ,to those who may cultivate upon the shores on the North ,the North-East, the East and South for five consecutiv eyears, the land which they shall cultivate and one caballería(a measure of land) beside ; and to those who devot ethemselves to cultivation or begin within the first tw oyears after the publication of this law one caballería morein addition to the two parcels above mentioned .

"Art . 2 . A premium of still another caballeria more inaddition to what is granted in the preceding Article shal lbe given to those who engage in the cultivation of cacaoor any. kind of dye plants .

"Art. 3. Cattle raisers shall also be granted, for the

same period of eight : years, a location for the establish -

' Supra. Year 2828 .

,6

ment of twenty-five head up to a thousand, and from athousand upward ; two locations for five years continuou soccupation ; and those who take possession during the firs ttwo years shall have three caballerias more .

"Art. 4. The privilege allowed by Decree of July 14 ,1825, is extended to all the products of the establishments

referred to .

"Art . G. Every one purposing to engage in such an en-

terprise who asks for measurements shall be given them

in accordance with the Decree of May 27th last ; and i f

this is done during the first two years after the publica -tion of this law, they shall have the privilege of having i t

done for them by a commissioner appointed by the party

interested and sworn by the Intendant, and office fees wil l

be allowed free, including those for the title, when it i sdesirable .

"Art . 6 . The parcels in the North, North-east, shall begranted by the route explored by the city of AlajueIa fromthe neighborhood of Fraijanes island to the River SanJuan; by the. route . explored in San . José, from they neigh-borhood of the River Blanco and Santa Rosa' to the banksof the same San Juan and the Atlantic ; by the route inthe direction of Cot from the neighborhood of the RiverPescado to the Volcano of Turrialba ; by the known roadsof Matina, from the River Turrialba and districts o fTucurrique forward ; and by the frontiers of Colombia ,from the beginning of the mountain region of Santa Clarato the boundary, keeping for the present as the line ofdemarcation that which is formed from one of the point scited to the other,—and in the South in those cases whic hmay come up the Government shall indicate approximatelythe demarcation for the parcels of land that are grante dbetween those of Portalón and the River Naranjo, thosethat run above the coast of Las Mantas between themouths of the large rivers of the interior and Candelaria,and the peninsula of Nicoya or Cape Blanco, mouths of

97

the River Alvarado , between the Gulf and the neighbor -hood of Barco-Quebrado .

"7 "o the Representative Council:"Given in San José on the twenty-ninth day of th e

month of October, 1828 .

"FÉLIX HIDALGO, Deputy Vice President ." JOSÉ ANTONIO CASTRO, Deputy Secretary .

"PEDRO DOBLES, Pro-Secretary .

"Hall of the Council :"San José, November 3, 1828 ."Let it be. sent to the Executive :

" JOSÉ RAFAEL DF„ GALLEGOS, President ."GREGORIO GUERRERO Secretary."

Therefore, let it be executed :San José, November 4, 1828 :

JUAN MORA .

To the Citizen Joaquin Bernardo Calvo .

The Federal Secretary of the Department of War to the Doc-497Chief of the State of Costa Rica.

GUATEMALA, July 22, 1831 . 1

Secretaryship of State and of the Department of War an d

Marine .

Palace of the Federal Government .

Guatemala, July 22, 1831.

To the Chief of the State of Costa Rica :

The President of the Republic has taken under considerationyour esteemed letter and the statement accompanying it, con-cerning the assignment of the Comandancia (Office of the Com-mander) of the Port of Matina, to the Sergeant Major, C. RafaelEscalante .

As the assignment of such places depends upon the selectio nthe Senate must make under the Constitution, the Presiden t

'Archives of the Department of Foreign Relations of Costa Rica .Year 1831 .

9s

aforesaid has deemed it proper to forward the matter to tha thigh body, that it may be before it when the assignment is made .

I have the honor to make this response to the note mentioned .D. U. L. (God, Union and Liberty)

SALAZAR .

Doc. 498 The Federal . Minister of the Treasury, to the Chief of theState of Costa Rica .

GUATEMALA,January 27, 1832.1

Ministry of the Treasury .To the Chief of the State of Costa Rica :

By the copy you were good enough to forward to this Min-istry my Government has been informed of the Resolution whichyou prepared and issued on December 16th last, that the CitizenAlexander Escalante, appointed by the National Executive a sAdministrator of the Maritime Customs of Matina, should, re ,sume his duties .

I have been directed to make this response to you by my Gov-ernment and in doing repeat my assurances of esteem .

D. U. L. (God, Union and Liberty) .National Palace in Guatemala, . January 27, 1832.

.

VALENZUELA .

Doc . 499 The Federal Minister of the Treasury to the Chief of th eState of Costa Rica .

GUATEMALA, May 19, 1832 . 1

Ministry of the Treasury.To the Citizen Chief of State of Costa Rica :

My Government had previously issued its orders to the In-tendancy that provision be made for establishing at the Port o fMatina the. Custom House that ought to be there ; and in view 'of what you have stated as to the matter in your esteemed noteof the 18th ultimo, I determined that the Intendancy repeat th eorders for such purpose, so that the transfer of the Custom

' Supra. Year 183£ ..' Supra.

99

House of Matina might be made to the Port of that name, notifying the officials that if they did not attend to it immediately pro-

ceedings would be taken against them for all the results thereof .

My Government directs me to make this response to your not ereferred to and to thank you in its name, as I now do, for th ezeal and attention you have given to the National Treasury .

I take advantage of this opportunity, Citizen Chief, to agai nassure you of my appreciation .

D. U. L. (God, Union and Liberty) .National Palace, Guatem ala, May 19, ,1832 .

VALENZUELA.

The Federal Minister of the Treasury to the Chief of the Doe 5ó aState of Costa Rica

GUATEMALA,July 23, 1.832.'

Federal Republic of Central America .Secretary of State and of the Department of the Treasury .

Palace of the National Government .Guatemala, July 23, 1832 .

To the Citizen Chief of the State of Costa Rica .:

The President of the Republic, being desirous that there shoul d

be established at the Port of Matina the Custom House whic h

according to law belongs there but has until now been kept i nCartago, has been . pleased to direct me to call upon you to the

end that you take charge of the matter of securing contractor s

to undertake the erection at that Port of a warehouse and offic efor administration, suiting such buildings to the amount of good s

brought in at that point .

Official reports have been received in this Ministry since th ebeginning of the current year that Señor Jorge O. Lanzón hasoffered to erect the buildings mentioned ; and that you may, as-certain what the facts are the Supreme executive has suggeste dthat I bring the matter to your knowledge ; and also that accord-ing to the said reports the Señor David Nikerson can get orbring from the North the steelyards under consideration .

'Supra

100

In addition to the aforesaid, the National Government desires ,after the contract is made, the adjustment of which is left toyou, that you make a report in regard to it, stating at the sametime the place where it may be deemed most convenient to locatethe Custom House referred to whether at the old Custom Hous eclose to the salt inlet, or at the mouth of the River Matina, oreven in the Valley of that name, so that having all the facts i nits possession the matter may be definitively settled .

This is stated to you for the purposes mentioned, renewing theassurances of my appreciation .

D. U. L. (God, Union and Liberty) .The Section Chief :

MANL. YRUNGARAY.

Doc. 50x The Federal Minister of the Treasury to the Chief of theState of Costa Rica.

SAN SALVADOR, October 25, 1834 . 1

Ministry of the Treasury .To the Citizen Chief of the State of Costa Rica :

House of the Supreme National Government .San Salvador, October 25, 1834 .

I have made a report to the Vice President of the Republic,,with your esteemed note of the 18th of September last. in whichyou were pleased to advise me of having already forwarded ,since November of the year previous, the proceedings had tojustify the charges made against the Administrator of the Mari -time-Customs of Matina ; and the necessity for relieving CitizenJosé Maria Garcia from the appointment which you then secure dwith the view of his return to take charge of his position as Cash-ier of the General Treasury of that State .

The Vice President of the Republic, having this in view, ha sbeen pleased to direct that suitable orders be communicated tothe General Intendancy so that Citizen Alexandro Escalante b eagain charged with the Maritime Customs of Matina, there beingno one else to serve at that distance, and so that the Cashier, th eCitizen José Maria Garcia, be left at your disposal .

' Supra. Year 1834 .

10 1

I have the honor to state this in response to you, advising yo uat the same time that I duly acknowledged the receipt of the pro-ceedings referred to, which you were good enough to append . toyour mote of the 3rd of November of last year, which doubtlesswent astray .

Be good enough to accept the assurances of my respect an dconsideration .

D. 17 . 1, . (God, Union and Liberty) .ALVAREZ .

The Federal Minister of the Treasury to the Chief of the Doe. 5mState of Costa Rica .

SAN SALVADOR, February 11, 1835 . 1Ministry of the Treasury .

To the Citizen Chief of the State of Casta Rica:House of the Supreme National Government

Sau Salvador. February 11, 1835 .Under date of the 2nd instant I stated to the General Intendan t

of the Federation, the following :"The Chief of State of Costa Rica, in a note of Octobe r

3rd ultimo states that the Administrator of the Maritim eCustoms of Matina has collected certain sums for accountof the percentage provided for by the Decree of August11, 1829, which belongs to the States and claiming thereturn thereof .

` . . The Vice President of the Republic, in view of thi sand the report by that Intendancy and the Chief Account,ing Office has seen fit to direct that you make the properinvestigations to ascertain whether the Administrator ofMatina has taken charge of sums belonging to that State ,issuing the proper orders in such case that they be turne dover, putting them immediately at the disposal of thatGovernment ."

I have the honor to transcribe this to you in response to you rnote of October 3rd, reiterating the assurances of m

y consideration and esteem.G . PARRA .

` Supra. Year 1835 .

1©2

Doe. 503 Decree CIX .

ALAJUELA, April 3, 1835 . 1Privileges and Concessions granted in favor of companies under-

taking to open a road to the North .The Vice Chief, in charge of the Supreme Executive Power of

the Free State of Costa Rica:Whereas, the Assembly has passed and the Council ha

s approved the following:"The Constitutional Assembly of the Free State o f

Costa Rica:"Considering, that the enterprise of opening roads to

the North Sea is of the greatest interest to the State, andthat its first duty is to encourage it on account or the im-mediate and necessary results this must have upon th edevelopment of agriculture and the increase of populatio nand industry ,

"Has deemed it wise to decree and does decree :"Art. 1. Without prejudice to the action of the Su-

preme National Government, to which report has bee nmade, concerning measures proposed by companies locatedin Alajuela and Cartago for the purpose of opening a goodroad, the first to Sarapiqui, and the second to Matina, theState on its part, provided the roads turn out well, willappropriate therefor not only the expenses of the unde rtaking, but also a premium of six pesos annually upon th ecapital invested until it is amortized .

"Art. 2 . To amortize this debt a toll of two reales shal lbe established as a charge for going and returning upo nthe roads mentioned, during the term of ten years .

"Art . 3 . For the same purpose each of these companies ma ydispose of one thousand caballerias of lands from thos ethat are vacant along the course of their roads, making a.report to the Government of each alienation that ma ytake place, so. that . it may be surveyed and the proper titl eissue, . the income from this source as well as that pro-vided for in the preceding Article being set aside to meet ,in advance of anything else, the cost of the said road; .

' Collection of Laws of Costa Rica. Year 1835 .

103

"Art. 4. Each one of the companies referred to shall 'make úp the account of the costs and the vouchers therefo rin such a manner that the Government, to which theymust be submitted annually, shall have no trouble in un-derstanding them, these companies being allowed for suchpurpose to appoint their own administrators, treasurers ,agents and other employees, as they may deem necessary,all of them under their own responsibility .

"To the Representative Council :"Given in the city of Alajuela, on the twenty-eighth

day of the month of March, 1835 ."MANUEL AGUILAR, Deputy President.

"RAFAEL REYES, Deputy Secretary ."JOSÉ GABRIEL PADILLA, Deputy Pro-Secretary .

"Hall of the Council :"Alajuela, April 3, 1835 .

" Let it be sent to the Executive Power :"JOSÉ JULIAN BLANCO President."JOSÉ MARIA ALVARADO, Secretary . "

Therefore, let it be executed :Alajuela, April 3, 1835 .

MANUEL FERNANDEZ .To the Minister General of the Department .

The Federal Minister of Interior Affairs to the Chief of Doc, 50 4the State of Costa Rica.

SAN SALVADOR, May 26, 1835 . 1

Ministry of Interior Affairs :

To the Citizen Chief of the State of Costa Rica :House of the Supreme Government ;

San Salvador, May 26, 1835 ,I have made report to the Supreme Government, with you r

esteemed note of April 4th last, and documents accompanyin gthe same, as to the contracts made , by your Government, as in-

Archives of the Department of Foreign Relations of Costa Rica . Year1835.

10 4

dicated by the said note, with the companies undertaking to opena road along the trail which leads to the River Sarapiqui and t oimprove the one which goes to the Valley of Matins and Port ofMoin .,

As the Law of May 19, 1832, provides that the General Gov-ernment is to make these contracts, with the consent of the Senate ,the Vice President of the Republic has arranged that the sai dHigh Body be consulted in regard to the matter, forwardIngto it everything pertaining thereto. When the Ministry undermy charge shall receive due response thereto, and the ExecutivePower acts upon this affair, I shall have the honor to advise you ,as I also do now, renewing to you, Citizen Chief, the assurance sof my appreciation and respect .

D. U. L. (God, Union and Liberty .)ALVAREZ.

Doc . Soy The Federal Minister of the Treasury to the Chief of theState of Costa Rica.

SAN SALVADOR, June 10, 1535 . 1

Ministry of the Treasury.To the Citizen Chief of State of Costa Rica :

House of the Supreme National Government :

San Salvador, June 10, 1835 .

I made a report to the Supreme Government, with your es-teemed communication of the 4th prior thereto, in which yo uwere pleased to state that the building used for a barracks an dfor the storage of goods belonging to merchants at the CustomHouse of Matina, was in very bad repair .

The Supreme Executive being advised of the contents of saidcommunication was pleased to give to the Intendancy the prope rorders for the repair of that building and the construction of athatched house intended for the use of that Custom House ,the employees being asked for estimates therefor .

The Intendancy has also been notified to have the Administrato rand Cashier Inspector of the Custom House in question move to

1 Supra.

105

that place within a period of one month ; and the President ex-pects it to take under its charge the duty of making the said em-ployees carry out so urgent And useful a measure.

In thus responding to your note referred to t repeat my as-surances of respect.

D. U. L. (God, Union and Liberty) .ALVAREZ .

The Federal Minister of the Treasury to the Chief of the Doc . 50 6State of Costa Rica.

SAN .SALVADOR, August 6, 1836 . 1

Ministry of the Treasury .(Enclosed to the Comandancia General under date of August

21st . )

To the Citizen Chief of State of Costa Rica :House of the Government :

San Salvador, August 6, 1835 .The National Executive being informed by your much es -

teemed note of the 4th of last month that the guards at the Por tof Matina had presented to your Government a petition tha tthey be appropriated the salaries they had earned during th emonths of April, May and June of the current year, but tha tthere was in that Administration no funds whatever—the Presi-dent of the Republic has resolved that what was due to the saidguards up to June be paid by that of Punta Arenas, accordingto your wishes .

I state this to you, Citizen Chief, in response to your note re-ferred to assuring you again of my consideration and respect .

D. U . L. (God, Union and Liberty) .ALVAREZ..

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106

Doc. 509 The Federal Minister of Interior Affairs to the Chief ofthe State of Costa Rica.

SAN SALVADOR, August 12, 1835, 1

Ministry of Interior Affairs .

To the Citizen Chief of State of Costa Rica :House of the Supreme National Government :

San Salvador, August 12, 1835 .I had the honor to make a report to the Supreme Govern-

ment of the official note which you, Citizen Chief, were please dto address to the Ministry under my charge on the 3rd of Julylast, relative to the road which a contracting company, a state-ment of which was enclosed, proposed to open toward the Por tof Matina .

The President, taking note of both documents, was very muc hpleased, for nothing could cause him greater satisfaction tha nthe opening of the road which is sought to be realized . ThisHigh Functionary believes that good roads are so many centre sof activity and enlightenment, widening the scope of occupation ,fostering the general welfare, introducing and cementin

g sociability, detaching the mind from local affairs and the preoccupa-tion produced by isolation and concentration, encouraging agri-culture, creating new values ; putting into circulation those thatwere dormant and in general contributing to the development an dprosperity of nations . Such is the idea formed by the Executiv eof the benefits that must flow from so laudable an enterprise ,and he is therefore determined to afford the company all th ehelp within his power and to assist its useful labors by using al lthe means within his reach for that purpose . .

If it depended alone upon the resolution of the Supreme Gov-ernment to accede to the petition made by the company that i tbe granted the revenues from the Custom House of Matina forthe benefit of the enterprise, it could at once rely upon the mos tfavorable response ; but as this measure can not be adopted ex-cept by the Legislative Body, the only thing the Government ca ndo in this matter is to initiate and support before that Body th e

Supra.

109

request of the company; with all the ardor and interest with whic hit is inspired by the conviction of the benefits which should b ederived by that State and the entire Republic from the enter -prise .

I do not doubt that the National Representatives, taking it u pwith the preferential consideration which it deserves, will acced eto the wishes of the contracting parties .

Moreover, Citizen Chief, it is proper to state to you that th ePresident regrets that he is quite without authority in this mat -ter, for the purpose of giving at the present time to those in -crested more positive proofs of his desire to secure the succes sof so useful a project, especially on account of the delay fromwhich the affair will suffer, inasmuch as the Congress is not i nsession ; but as soon as it takes up its legislative duties in De-cember, it will be brought to its attention .

At this time this is what I have to say to you in response t oyour note referred to, for your information and that of the con-tracting parties ; and to renew upon this opportunity the assur-ances of my respect and most distinguished consideration .

D . U. L. (God, Union and Liberty) .

ALVAREZ ,

Decree CXXXI. Doc. 508

ALAJUELA, September 2, 1835 .

Grants to the contracting companies of Sarapiqui and Matin athe power to sell a thousand Caballerias of land conceded to the mby the Law of March 31, of this year, and imposing a toll upo nloads carried over the roads that have been opened .

The Supreme Chief of the Free State of Costa Rica :Whereas, the Assembly has passed and the Council has !

approved the following :

"The Constituent Assembly of the Free State of CostaRica, being desirous of affording encouragement to ag-riculture and commerce and to secure the welfare of thi sState, has decreed and does decree :

108

"Art . 1 . The contracting- companies upon the Sarapi-quí and Matina roads are granted the power to sell th ethousand caballerías of land ceded to them by the Lawof March 31 of the present year, so as to continue wor kupon the said roads, making a report to the Executive a sprovided in the Law mentioned .

"Art. 2. The said thousand caballerías of land cededto the companies shall be excepted from the duty impose dby the Law of March 31st last, for the term of fifteenyears, with the purpose of facilitating their rapi d disposal

.

"Art . 3 . The toll of two reales shall be paid for eachload going and returning, already stipulated upon sai droads for the period of ten years, and the sum therebyproduced be used for the repair and betterment thereof .

"To the Representative Council :

"Given in the city of Alajuela, on the twenty-fifth -dayof the month of August, 1835 .

"MANUEL AGUILAR, Deputy President _"RAFAEL REYES, Deputy Secretary ."MANUEL A . BONILLA. Deputy Secretary .

"Hall of the Council :

"Alajuela, September 1, 1835 .

"Let it be sent to the Executive Power :"MANUEL FERNANDEZ

, President.-"JOSÉ MARIA ECHAVARRIA, Secretary. "

Therefore, let it be executed :

Alajuela, September 2, 1835 .

BRAULIO CARRILLO .To the Minister General of the Department .

109

The Federal Minister of the Treasury to the Chief of the Doc So y

State of Costa Rica.

Snit SALVADOR, October 17, 1835 . 1

Ministry of the Treasury .

Citizen Chief of the State of Costa Rica.

House of the National Government .

San Salvador, October 17, 1835 .

Having submitted to the National Executive the, esteeme dnote of your Government, in which the losses in the tobacc orevenues of your State are explained by reason of the introduc-tion of this product from abroad, which evidently cannot b eavoided except by the cooperation of the officials of the Federa-tion, the National Executive, who desires more than anythin gelse that the utmost harmony shall prevail among the subordi-nates of both authorities and that each help the other in every -thing that may tend to a maintenance of public order and respectfor the laws, has thought it best to resolve :

1. That the General Intendancy notify the officials of the De-partment of the Treasury, located at the ports of your State, toactively cooperate on their part to prevent the smuggling of to-bacco.

2. That a like notification be given to the Commanders of th ePorts of Matina and Punta de Arenas, directing them to affordall the assistance needed to your Government for the same object .

The President of the Republic has also directed that this resolution be communicated to your Government, as I now have th e

honor of doing, and at the same time take this opportunity o fagain assuring you, Citizen Chief, of my especial appreciationand respect.

D. U. L. (God, Union and Liberty) .

ALVAREZ .

' Archives of the Department of Foreign Relations of Costa Rica.Year 1835 .

110

Doc. 510 The Federal Minister. of the Treasury to the Chief of theState of Costa Rica.

SAN SALVADOR, October 18, 1835 . 1

Ministry of the Treasury .

To the Citizen Chief of Costa Rica :House of the National Government :

San Salvador, October 18, 1835 .By your esteemed note of the 20th of September last the Na-

tional Executive has been advised that the Customs Guards locatedatthe Port ofMatinal,who left for lack of means for thei r

subsistence at that . point, were directed to return to it by you rGovernment as soon as it received the order communicated b ythe 'Minister of the . Treasury for the payment of the . salariesdue to said guards at the Port of Punta Arenas.

You are informed of this in response to your courteous note ,at the same time renewing my . assurance of my distinguished ap-preciation and respect ..

D. U. L. (God, Union and Liberty) .ALVAREZ

.

Doc. six The Federal Minister of Interior Affairs to the Chief ofthe State of Costa Rica .

SAN SALVADOR, January 26, 1837 . 1

Central America . Ministry of Interior and Foreign Affairs .

To the Citizen Chief of the State of Costa Rica :Government House : San Salvador, January 26, 1837 .

In view of the fact that there is at the present time no Commander at the Port ofMating,and it being at the same tim e

necessary to appoint some officer of your State for the purpos eof issuing passports to persons who desire to leave the Repub-lic by that port, the President resolved to ask you, as I now hav e

' Supra .`Supra . Year 1837

111

the honor of doing, if you will be good enough to use your in-fluence to have the Political Chief of Cartago take charge ofthat duty while there is no Commander at Matina .

I renew to you, Citizen Chief, the assurance of my distinguished consideration.

D . U. L. (God, Union and Liberty) .ALVAREZ

Decree XLIX .

Doc . 51 2

SAN JOSÉ, January 13, 1839 . 1

Authorizes the Executive Power to assist in repairing the Ma -tina road.

The Vice-Chief of the Free State of Costa Rica, in the exercis eof the Exetutive . Power :

Whereas, the Assembly has passed and the Council ha sapproved the following :

"The Constituent Assembly of the Free State of CostaRica, convinced of the need which exists for a road tothe North to develop the commerce of the country ; andalso knowing that while companies have been formed a tdifferent times with a view to increasing the traffic uponthe one leading to Matina, yet the results have not beencommensurate with the efforts put forth for variou

s reasons as shown by experience; and believing also that a nenterprise of such great importance as this will never b erealized unless it is taken up by the State, - expendin gfrom the Public Treasury what may be required for it scost, except such sums as may be collected fro

m voluntary gifts; and that it is certain Agriculture will graduall yfall into decay unless some means is provided for gettingout the products which are already offered, with the con -sequence that it will be followed by the disaffection of th eresidents interested in the development of this source o f

' Collection of Laws of Costa Rica. Year 1838 .

1 .1 2

public wealth, and it being only just to the clamor raise d

in regard to this matter by those agriculturists an d traders

for the repair of the Matina road,

Has decided to decree and does decree :

Article Sole : To authorize the Executive Power (1), '

to assist in the repair of the Matina road in the way thatmay be deemed most suitable, by taking the sums needed

from the Public Treasury ; and (2) to open voluntar ysubscriptions in those settlements where circumstances wil lpermit it, which are to be used toward meeting the ex-penditures the enterprise may require .

"To the Representative Council :"Given in the city of Heredia on the fourth day of the

month of January, 1838 .

"FELIX SANCHO, President ."JUAN B . BONILLA, Deputy Secretary ."JUAN DE DIGS MARCHENA, Deputy Secretary .

"House of the Council :"Heredia, January twelfth, 1838 ,"Let it be sent to the Executive Power :

"MANUEL A. BONILLA, President ."JOSÉ MARIA ECHAVARRIA, Secretary . "

Therefore, let it be executed :

San José, January 13, 1838 .JUAN MORA .

To the Minister General of the Department .

Doc, 513

Decree LIII .

SAN JOSÉ, January 29, 1838 . 1

Authorizes the Executive Power, in case of need, to make aloan for the repair of the Matina road .

The Vice-Chief of the Free State of Costa Rica, in the exerciseof the Executive Power :

Supra.

113

Whereas, the Assembly has passed and the Council has ap-proved, the following -

"The Constituent Assembly of the Free State of CostaRica, with the important purpose that the enterprise fo r

- - the repair of the Matina road may not prove a failurefor the lack of means necessary to execut

e it, notwithstanding what was provided by the Decree of the 4th in-stant, has decided to decree and does decree :

"Sole Art . The Executive Power is authorized, in casethe resources afforded by the Public Treasury and th evoluntary donations made in virtue of the Law of the 4thinstant, for the repair of the Matina road, shall prove in -sufficient, to make a loan from private persons of the sum sneeded for such purpose, stipulating with them the pre-mium and the guaranties they may require .

"To the Representative Council :"Given in the city of Heredia, on the thirteenth day o f

the month of January, 1838 .

"FÉLIX SANCHO, Deputy President ."JUAN R. RAMOS, Deputy Pro-Secretary."JUAN DE DIOS MARCHENA, Deputy Secretary .

"Hall of the Council :"Heredia; January 23, 1838 ."Let it be sent to the Executive Power :

"MANUEL A. BONILLA, President ."JOSS MARíA ECHAVARRiA, Secretary . "

Therefore, let it be executed :San José, January 29, 1838 .

JUAN MORATo the Minister General of the Department .

114

Doc . 5 14

Decree LVI.

SAN JOSÉ, January 20, 1838 ,

Directs that Subscriptions be opened to undertake the repai r

of the Matina road.

The Supreme Chief of the Free State of Costa Rica

In the execution of the Decree of the 4th ultimo, providin gfor the repair of the road to the-Port of Matina, consideringthe importance of that enterprise, as a preliminary necessity for

the undertaking of that road, provides :

1. That a contract be made with Señor Henrique Cooper fo rthe inspection of the road to the Port of Moin as to the condi-tion in which it is now, its exact measurement, with the direc-tions in which it runs, the rough places, rivers, etc ., and thepreparation of a formal plan thereof, paying for this work andthe incidental . expenses from the General Treasury the sum o fOne hundred and fifty pesos, agreed upon with him—also al -lowing him on the part of the Government the instruments i tmay have and giving orders for protection and assistance .

2. That the voluntary subscriptions, contemplated in the Decree referred to, be at once opened, for the purpose o

f providing fortheexpenses of this enterprise; and that there shall b eappointed for this purpose, in the city of Cartago the Citizen sPriest Jose Ana Ulloa, Jose Antonio Oreamuno, Ramon' Jime-nez and Narciso Esquivel ; and in that of San José the CitizensRafael Gallegos, Jorge Stiefel, Agustin Gutiérrez and JoaquinMora ; and in that of Heredia the Citizens Priest Joaquin Flores ,Rafael Moya, Nicolás Ulloa and Raimundo Trejos ; and in thatof Alajuela the Citizens Priest Jose Maria Arias, Matias Sando-val, Jose Maria Alfaro and Joaquin Mendez ; who are all ex-pected by the Government not to decline to render this importan tservice .

' Supra .

115

3. The Minister General of the Department will make thecontract spoken of in the first section and will take care that i tis properly drawn .

Done in the city of San José, on the '20th day of the month ofFebruary, 1838 .

MANUEL AGUILAR ,

To the Minister General of the Department .

Resolution XXIII.

Doc .515

SAN JOSÉ, May 23, 1838 . 1

Approves the work done by Señor Henrique Cooper in thesurvey of the Matina road .

The Citizen Henrique Cooper, having made a report of th ework done upon the Matina road, the contract for which wasdirected to be made with him by the disposition of February 20th ;and it being found that not only has he performed satisfactorilythe duty which he undertook of preparing a plan of the presen troad, but he has gone further in three matters of great im-portance, . investigating and measuring the distance from Mointo Limón, making maps of those two ports and the coast tha tlies between them and lastly presenting a memorial of muc hmerit relating to his journey, with various interesting and im-portant observations ; and

Considering, that the sum of One hundred and fifty pesos,for which he contracted to do the work, was not enough, norto cure him of the sickness he contracted, and that it is the dut yof the Government to protect and recompense this sort o

f service; being authorized to take any steps for the opening of sai droad, taking the sums needed therefor from the Public Treasury ;

The Chief of State has been pleased to resolve :1 . Let there be expressed to the said Cooper the just appreciatio n

with which the result of his work upon the Matina road hasbeen received, and let him be duly thanked therefor in the nam eof the State .

' Supra .

2 . . That as a token of recognition, let there be appropriate dfor him out of the Treasury Two hundred pesos more, in addi-tion to the One hundred and fifty for his work, and ten Cabal-lerias of vacant lands, in the locality he may ask for and selec tthem, of which he shall be given the corresponding title of owner -ship, without any further expense upon his part than defrayin gthe cost of survey when it is asked for .

That the memorial submitted by him be printed, for accoun tof the Government, to the number of 400 copies, and those re-quired by the State being taken, the remainder shall be place dat his disposal .

And for your information this is stated to you by order of thesaid Chief .

D. U. L. (God, Union, Liberty) .San José, May 23, 1838 .

JUAN DE DIOS ZÉSPEDES .

Doe, 516

Decree LXXVIII.

SAN JOSÉ, June 11, 1838 . 1

Opens as a Major Port that of Matina .

The Supreme Chief of the Free State of Costa Rica :Whereas, the Assembly has passed and the Council has ap-

proved the following :

"The Constituent Assembly of the Free State of CostaRica, being desirous of affording to the commerce of thecountry the protection needed for it to reach that degreeof perfection which its welfare demands ; regretting thatby dispositions of the National Government and the re-duction of Matina to a minor port, trade fell off to a veryserious extent, the merchants having to register their good sand have appraisements made at some other port of th eRepublic ;

"And considering that although, with a view of avoidin gthese evils, the Supreme Federal Government has mor e

' Supra .

11 7

than once been urged to make provision for the openingof said port, yet the result of such demands has not bee nsecured ; and noting, lastly, that it will be in vain for CostaRica to incur the expense now impending for the repai rof the Matina road if this step is longer delayed ,

"Has resolved to decree and does decree :" Sole Art . Matina is opened as a major port, and there -

fore the Executive is empowered to establish its CustomHouse provisionally, in accordance with the disposition scontained in the Federal Decrees of February 27, 1837 .

"To the Representative Council :" Done in the city of Heredia on the eighteenth da y

of the month of May, 1838 ."FÉLIX SANCHO, D. President ."RAFAEL RAMIREZ, D.Pro-Secretary."JUAN RAFAEL RAMOS, D . Secretary.

"House of the Council :"San José, June 8, 1838 ."Let it be sent to the Executive Power :

"MANUEL BONILLA, President ."JOSÉ M. ECHAVARRIA, Secretary ."

Therefore, let it be executed :San . José, June 11, 1838 .

BRAULIO CARRILLO .To the Minister General of the Department .

CIRCULAR III.

Doc, 51 7

Directs the Performance of the Resolution of the Superior Cour tof Justice, Providing for the Repair of the Matina Road bythe Convicts Sentenced to Public Works, and Appointing asDirector of the Station and Purveyor for the Road the CitizenNarciso Esquivel .

SAN JOSÉ, June, 1838 ,

The Supreme Court of justice, at its regular daily session ,under Article 4 passed the Resolution reading as follows :

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118

"Having in view some opinions by judges of the First In -stance, asking as to the class of Public . Works and the . loca-tion, to which- .convicts-sentenced by them should be sent ; an dthe Tribunal considering that the opening up of the Matina roadis about to be undertaken ; and that many of the convicts up t othe present time have not performed their sentences, either forlack of a destination or of security, thus flattering themselve sas to their impunity, while there are places in which suc

h prisoners could work out their offenses, having also in min d thebenefit to the public by reason of the facility afforded agricul-turists and traders in bringing in and taking out their mer-chandise ;

"It was agreed to advise the judges of First Instance tha twithin the term of eight days .they cause to be forwarded to th ejails of this city all. the convicts. sentenced to Public Works ,leaving out those sentenced for less than fifteen days, who shal lbe employed in the repair of bridges, bad places and the clean-ing up of the streets and squares of the settlements where it ma ybe deemed desirable, and for' other purposes _ of domestic ad -ministration;

"That inasmuch as vagrants ought also to be employed in suc hwork, like instructions be given the judges of First Instance ,that within the same period they proceed in accordance withlaw to arrest and send forward those who are in the localitie sunder their jurisdiction, doing the same with women prostitutes ,and without any proceedings they shall be set at work in th emess or kitchen where those upon the Station are fed ;

"And, lastly, it being necessary to provide them with requi-site food and proper safeguards, the Supreme Executive shal lbe advised so that he may provide what is proper in so importan tan affair .

"By order of the same Tribunal I send to you a copy an dthat it may be brought to the attention of the Supreme Govern-ment for the purposes necessary ."

And in pursuance of the foregoing note, the said Government ,under date of the 22nd instant, declared as follows :

In accordance with the resolution of the Superior Court o fjustice, directing all the convicts sentenced to Public Works tobe employed upon the Matina road :

11 9

It is declared, that until the repair work upon the said road isbegun, which will be started as soon as the explorer can give th eproper directions, his health being reestablished, they shall b ekept busy in the repair of the one that leads from Cartago tothe village of Turrialba, along the trail that turns from the pas sof Quebrada Honda, indemnifying the discoverer :

And that all this be performed let the Citizen Narciso Esquivelbe appointed as Director of the road and as purveyor o f

the convict stations, with an allowance of thirty pesos monthly ,who will collect the tools used . in past years for such purpose ,with the fetters and other appurtenances ; and he shall also pro-vide two tents with an extent of eight yards each, receiving fro mthe General Treasury the money he may need, whenever th erequirements of the work demand it, presenting his accoun tmonthly with vouchers at the Intendancy . ; all to be ready for th e6th of the coming month .